NBA Power Rankings — Dec. 20

(Last week’s ranking in parentheses

1. L.A. Lakers — Pau Gasol rebounding at an unbelievable rate (1)2. Boston — Loss to 76ers snaps 11-game winning streak (2)3. Atlanta — Hawks have won six games by at least 20 points this season (8)4. Orlando — Magic end December with five straight at home (4)5. Cleveland — LeBron James has led the team in assists in 20 of 27 games (6)6. Dallas — Dirk Nowitzki had to pull Carl Landry’s teeth out his elbow (3)7. Denver — Nuggets are 10-3 against Western Conference opponents (7)8. Phoenix — Entire Suns starting five averaging more than 12 points a game (5)9. Utah — Sloan benched starters in third quarter of loss at Atlanta (9)10. San Antonio — Spurs have won 2 of 3 on the road after staring out 1-5 (10)11. Houston — Tracy McGrady’s return has been unimpressive (11)12. Portland — Joel Przybilla averaging 9.5 rebounds since Oden injury (12)13. Oklahoma City — Jeff Green quietly having another solid season (13)14. New Orleans — Hornets 10-3 at home, 2-10 on the road (15)15. Miami — Heat promote Carlos Arroyo to starter and win two straight (14)16. Milwaukee — Bucks are 2-6 with Michael Redd in the lineup (16)17. L.A. Clippers — Eric Gordon second among NBA sophomores in scoring (21)18. Sacramento — Kings 10-3 at home and 1-11 on the road (20)19. DETROIT — Pistons asking Rodney Stuckey to do too much (17)20. Memphis — Zach Randolph playing at an All-Star level (24)21. Charlotte — Bobcats one of three teams with one road win (23)22. Toronto — Rookie DeMar DeRozan has started all 29 games this season (18)23. New York — Darko Milicic already planning escape route to Europe (22)24. Chicago — Rookie Taj Gibson a bright spot for the Bulls (19)25. Indiana — Mike Dunleavy scoring more than 15 a game since return (25)26. Washington — Amazing how bad Wizards have been this season (26)27. Golden State — Warriors 1-9 in the month of December (27)28. Philadelphia — Early return of Marreese Speights should be a boost (28)29. Minnesota — Jonny Flynn third among rookies in scoring (29)30. New Jersey — Bonds for a new arena selling well, tickets not so much (30)

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About Me

Dave Pemberton covers the Pistons and the NBA for The Oakland Press. A graduate of Oakland University, Pemberton has been a sports writer/page designer since joining The Oakland Press in 2006. Along with covering various high school sports in both print and multi-media Internet platforms, Pemberton has covered the Oakland University men's and women's basketball beat for the past two years. Follow Dave on twitter at drpemberton